No Day But Today
by Zabe Rogue
Summary: My VERY FIRST FIC! When Mystique dies FOR REAL THIS TIME ,Nightcrawler and Rogue take a trip to Mississippi to gather what was left of their estranged mother. But it is their children that get caught up with Mystique's past. CHAPTERS 6 & 7 R UP! REVIEW!
1. It's so Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday

**No Day But Today**

**By Zabe Rogue  
**

_**Song-It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday-Boyz II Men**_

IT'S SO HARD TO SAY GOODBYE

It was a hot, humid Sunday afternoon at the Xavier Institute in San Francisco. Usually, hot weather doesn't faze Kristy Jo Kyle, the Untouchable X-Man known as St. Joan, because she's from Texas. But this day feels like a freaking sauna! _Maybe I shoulda' went to the beach with Kurt an' Ororo, _Kristy thought. It was Summer Break at the Xavier Institute and most of the students and staff have taken the vacation to their advantage. Kristy Jo could've used this time to escape to the Alps, Greenland, or any cold place in the world. But somehow, having the Institute all to herself was relaxing. That is, if Logan hadn't decided to stay here as well, instead of going to Canada. The weatherman mentions today's temperature on the news:105 degrees! Kristy sighed. "And to think, I left one hot climate t' live in another." She mumbled.

"LOGAN! Where them brews at?" The feral Canadian came to the rec room and brought in two ice cold Budweiser's and two cold cut sandwiches. "Relax, Texas Pete," he grumbled. "The game doesn't start for another 10 minutes." He turned to the ESPN channel and watched the last few minutes of an international soccer game.

"Why do Americans watch this gay crap?" Logan sneered.

"Cause it's intense," Kristy Jo answered. Then she smiled and added, "An' the fellas look mighty nice in their shorts."

"You are true redneck, Kristy Jo Kyle."

"An' proud of it, James Howlett. Now where my beer?"

"How old are you?"

"Old enough to kick ya behind. Ya know I'm over 21."

Logan grinned and gave Kristy Jo her beer. Smiling, Kristy opened her beer and took a swig. "Lemme show ya a _real_ game," Logan said. "Canadian style." The Texan copycat and the Canadian animal got comfortable and ready for their "Best Buds Day In." Hockey. Beer. Salty Foods. Nobody here at the mansion, the perfect day! What could possibly go wrong?

INCOMING CALL! INCOMING CALL!

St. Joan and Wolverine looked at each other in exasperation. Who could be calling at this hour?

"ANSWER, REC ROOM PHONE!" Kristy Jo commanded. The hockey game was suddenly in abrupt interruption as Sandra McIntyre, the villainess known as Quintessence, who just happens to be Kristy Jo's aunt, appeared on the television screen. For a time Quintessence was a superhero along with her sister, Joan Dawson, Kristy Jo Kyle's mother. Somewhere along the way the once close sisters had a falling out involving Kristy's father, Victor Windfox. In other words, Sandra became evil, killed Joan and Victor, and became Kristy Jo's sworn enemy. But being that Quintessence is family prevents St. Joan from killing her.

"Hello, Kristy Jo." Sandra's voice came in quite relaxed. Kristy looked at her in the most surprised, cold expression she had.

"Why are ya callin' me, Auntie Sandy?" She said crossly.

"Yeah! We were about to watch a really good hockey game," Logan added, equally pissed.

Sandra rolled her eyes. "Look, I don't care for no hockey game. An' I ain't really got the time."

"Then what do want?!" Kristy Jo shouted.

"If you would let me talk, Kristina JoAnne, I'll tell ya!" Sandra shouted back. She took a deep breath and said mostly to herself: "I'm on vacation, I'm on vacation." Then to Logan and Kristy Jo, she said: "Look, Erik an' I are having a nice relaxin' day in Jamaica. An' I plan to spend every freakin' minute of it in peace! Now, I called 'cause I wanted to talk to Nightcrawler."

"Kurt's not here," Kristy Jo replied. "He and Ororo took JT, Tamarra, Lena and some of their friends to Santa Monica."

"What about Rogue?"

"Rogue went to a spa in Denver with Emma, Chauncey, Betsy, Deidre, Tabitha, and Jubilee." Logan said. "Some kinda Girls Getaway. Why?"

Sandra ignored the question. "_No one _is here?"

"No!" Kristy said agitated. "No one but me and Logan. What is this about, anyway?"

"It's about Mystique." Sandra said finally. "Erik got a call from Nick Fury. She's dead." Logan and Kristy Jo looked blankly at the television then at each other. Then they just burst out laughing.

"Yeah, right." Logan snickered. "And I'm the Grim Reaper. You know the woman lived as long as I have, Sandra."

"She probably faked her death for the hundredth time and posin' as the cocktail gal so she can screw wit' Magneto." Kristy Jo added.

"It ain't a JOKE!" Sandra shouted. "I'm tellin' the truth. Fury says he's gonna call you Logan to confirm it." Logan scoffed but then his cell phone rang. When the Caller ID said "RESTRICTED," Logan grunted. He knew who it was.

"What do'ya want, Fury?" He growled. Kristy Jo watched as her friend's expression went from irritated, to surprised.

"What? Yeah, I know she told us but we thought… Well it's MYSTIQUE! Who you expect?!" Logan sighed. "Fine, I'll tell Kurt and Rogue. What was the cause? Oh it's classified an' that bull. Well, I just asked because I feel that her two children, who're my _close friends mind you, _should have a right to know! C'mon, Fury! They have kids of their-" Logan stopped mid-sentence. "Oh. That's it? Well that's….not gross at all. Okay, thanks. Screw you, too." Logan ended the call and looked at Kristy Jo. "Your aunt's right."

Kristy Jo looked at her aunt at the television screen who gave her an "I-told-you-so" look. "Now, are ya'll gonna talk to Rogue and Nightcrawler when they come back or should I interrupt my vacation an' tell em' myself?"

"NO!" Kristy and Logan said at the same time.

"We'll tell 'em, Aunt Sandy," Kristy added.

"Now can we _please _get back to the game?!" Logan said. "We already missed 20 minutes of it!"

"Fine." Sandra said. "I gotta go anyway. Erik is taking me to this nice restaurant by the beachfront an' then-"

"Please, stop!" Logan pleaded. "We do not want to hear about what sick, perverted stuff Magneto does to you."

Sandra laughed. "I was gonna say, he was takin' me dancing afterwards." She laughed harder when she saw Logan blush.

"I gotta go. It's clear to see ya'll need some central air or something. Kristy, say hi to Angie, Jason, and Midge for me. Bye."

With that, the transmission was cut off and the hockey game resumed. "Oh, man!" Logan grunted. "The Maple Leafs are down by 2! C'mon Toronto!"

Kristy Jo, who was trying to contemplate all of this, finally snapped back to attention and turned the TV off.

"What in the _world_, Kristy?!" Logan said angrily.

"Did'ya not hear what my auntie said?!" Kristy Jo screamed.

"Yeah, I was there," Logan replied as he slowly tried to grab the remote control from Kristy Jo's grasp. "Fury called me on my cell phone, remember? Now can we watch the game?" Kristy Jo pulled the remote away from Logan's reach.

"This is serious, Logan! Mystique is really dead and Kurt and Marie don't even know yet. I mean have they even heard from her?!"

"The last time Elf heard from Raven was about three years ago. They kinda had a falling out. Raven only hears from Kurt through either Rogue, or the kids."

Kristy sighed. "This is terrible."

Logan looked up. "Why? She wasn't your mama."

"I know what it's like to lose one, ya big gorilla! Nightcrawler and Rogue are gonna have a hard time getting over this. An' with Peter an' Mercedes in Russia, we have to be their support system."

"Oh." Logan muttered. "I never thought of that."

"And think about the kids. Think about Talia, JT, Lena, Rebecca, and Oliver. The kids just lost their grandma. You know how close Raven was with them kids."

"Okay, okay Texas Pete," Logan said, raising his hand up. "Calm down. Look, Rogue is coming back tomorrow and Kurt and Ororo are coming back Friday. We'll tell them, all right?" Kristy Jo looked at Logan and nodded. "A'right." She mumbled. Logan put his arm around her. "Okay," he said. Glad we got _that _out of the way. Now can we watch the game?"

* * *

"HEADS UP!" a loud voice warned from across the mansion field. Johannes Timothy Wagner notices the flying football coming towards him and immediately teleported out of the way, missing him completely and hitting his cousin, Alena Danielle Parkridge, smack dab in the face.

"Oh, my nose!" She exclaimed as she fell. JT teleported beside her, his glowing green eyes wide with concern.

"Lena!" He said. "Are you all right?" Lena could only look at her elf-like cousin in irritation. He was sweet, but always said the right stuff at the wrong time.

"Does it _look _like I'm alright?" She said angrily. "I just got a freaking football thrown in my face!"

"JT! Why didn't you catch the ball?" Dmitry Marx asked, coming over to them. Dmitry was an athletic built teenager of seventeen. Jet Black hair, sky blue eyes, and a slight British accent (although he's half-Canadian, half-German), he was a catch for all the ladies. Dmitry's charms however, didn't match his looks.

"What happened to Lena?" He asked.

Lena just looked at him furiously. "I swear to God, Marx," she screamed. "If you weren't Natalie's boyfriend, I'LL PIMP-SLAP YOU BACK TO CANADA!" She threw the football at Dmitry and stormed into the mansion. Dmitry looked at JT, confused. "What did I do?" He asked. Just then, a puff a purple smoke emerged between the two teenage boys and Kurt Wagner aka Nightcrawler appeared.

"What happened with Leisel, _mien Sohn?" _He inquired.

"Dmitry hit her with a football." JT said casually. Dmitry just gave Nightcrawler the I-didn't-know-look. Kurt laughed.

"Well, let's get this rest of this in the house, boys." He said.

With that, the three men took the beach gear and headed inside the Institute where they were greeted by Logan, Kristy Jo, Jubilee, and Candace Searcy-Guthrie aka Mirage.

"Hey Kurt!" Jubilee greeted first, rushing towards the blue elf for a hug. "How's Santa Monica?"

"A lot more relaxing as I hoped, Jubilee." Kurt answered.

"JT said you got some souvenirs to give us," Candace said, opening out her hand. "Now where are they?"

Kurt eyed his son suspiciously. "Well did he now?" JT just shrugged. "Ororo has them," Kurt continued, smiling. "And I bought a beautiful seashell necklace I believe Rachel would love." Candace smiled and gave Kurt a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, you Fuzzy Elf!" She said. She and Jubilee rushed upstairs to Kurt and Ororo's room.

"I assume the spa trip was better than expected?" Kurt asked.

"Oh yeah." Kristy Jo replied. "The gals really enjoyed themselves."

"And how about you two?"

"You know, Elf. Same ol' same ol.'" Logan replied. Kurt looked at his two friends. _Something's not right about them. Usually they'll tease me or rant on me about leaving them alone in the mansion. _He thought. _They are definitely hiding something._

"Is everything all right?" Kurt began.

"Yeah, everything's fine." Logan said quickly. At the same time, Kristy Jo said: "Never better, Wags. Why'd you ask?"

"Because you're both acting very strange, _mien furends."_ Kurt replied. "Especially you, Logan." Wolverine and St. Joan looked at each other, then at Nightcrawler. Then their gaze turned to the two young teenage boys behind Kurt who were on the couch playing catch with the football.

"Dmitry, JT," Kristy Jo said, rather solemnly. "Go to your rooms an' unpack your stuff."

"Wait, we can't hear this conversation?" Dmitry asked. "C'mon! After everything we been through, we've kinda earned it."

"Yeah and if it involves my _father, _it obviously involves me too!" JT added. Logan stared at JT for a long time. It amazed him how much he is like his father. Well, both of his parents actually. When it came to looks, JT mirrored mostly his mother, Ororo Wagner aka Storm. His velvet fur skin was a turquoise blue compared to that of Nightcrawler's which was indigo. JT had normal feet and hands, and natural white highlights in his blue hair. However, he did gain some of his father's traits: JT has amazing agility, pointed ears, a prehensile tail, and night vision which allows his eyes to glow green (Nightcrawler's glowing eyes are yellow). Besides the powers to control weather, and teleportation, JT has the power to fly and control the effects of Lunar Spectrum (hard to explain; meaning he has control over shadows and stuff), earning him the name Nightshadow. Logan looked at JT Wagner and saw the conviction in his eyes. Laughing to himself, he walked right up to JT and put his hand on his shoulder.

"I know," He said softly. "But this doesn't involve just you and your father. It involves your Aunt Rogue as well."

"Aunt Rogue?" JT said, worried. "Is she all right?"

"Why don't you go check on her?" Logan suggested. "She's in her room." JT nodded and motioned Dmitry to join him, who followed him without complaint. Now Kurt was really worried.

"What is this about Logan?" He asked as soon as the boys left. "Something bad happened, Elf." Logan said simply.

"Did something happen to Rogue? Is she hurt?"

"It ain't Rogue, Kurt." Kristy Jo said. "Rogue's fine. It's about Mystique."

Kurt's expression changed. "Mystique? What about her?"

"She dead, Elf." Logan announced. The room fell silent for a couple of minutes. But the minutes felt like hours. Finally, Kurt gained his composure and managed to sit down on the couch.

"This….this has to be a j-joke." He muttered softly.

"I wish it was, honey." Kristy Jo said softly. She sat down next to Kurt, her hand in his. "My aunt called us last week an' told us. Then Nick Fury called Logan to confirm the news."

"How did she die?" Kurt said finally looking up.

"Fury wouldn't say," Logan replied. "Said it was some "A-1 Sauce, R & R mess." Kristy Jo looked at Logan, confused. "It was Classified."

"Well, it serves her right she's dead." Kurt said coldly. Kristy Jo and Logan looked at their distraught blue friend in shock. They knew he and Mystique had a falling out. They had hoped the revelation of Mystique's death would move him to at least show some compassion for his foster sister's sake. But all there was in his eyes were just a bitter hatred that none of them have seen before.

"Kurt, you don't mean that." Kristy Jo said.

"_Ja, _I do!" He replied angrily. "That woman cause enough heartache and pain for both me _and _Marie. I'm glad she's gone!"

"Elf, this isn't you." Logan reasoned. "What happened to 'Forgive trespassers and jaywalkers,' and 'you don't know me don't judge me'?" Kurt and Kristy Jo just looked at him. "Okay, so I don't read the Bible much. But you know what I'm talking about, Kurt." Kurt looked from Logan to Kristy Jo and sighed.

"All right," He said finally. "I guess I better check on Rogue. How is she?"

"She takin' it pretty tough; ain't doing to good." Kristy Jo said.

"She's in her room." Logan added. Kurt nodded and made his way to his sister's room, taking a moment to sink this all in. _Mystique is dead? _Kurt thought. _My mother…my and Rogue's mother dead? It can't be. _Kurt thought about the last time he and Raven talked. It was three years ago. He could barely remember what was said. All he remembered the last words that were spoken: _I HATE YOU! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN! _Well, he got his wish. Approaching Rogue's room, Kurt knocked on the door softly before entering.

"Anna?" He ventured. "Are you in here?" He came in the room and saw his son, JT; next to Rogue with is arm around her. Dmitry was there too, sitting on the computer chair, silent. JT looked at his father when he entered the room, his green eyes shaded red and light blue face streaked wet. Kurt could tell he was crying and he wanted so much to cry with him.

"Johannes, Dmitry," he said softly. "Go to your rooms and let me talk to your Aunt Rogue." JT nodded and gave Rogue a quick hug before leaving. Dmitry followed suit. "I'm sorry, Nightcrawler." He said softly.

"_Danke, _Dmitry." Nightcrawler replied. JT looked at his dad for a long time. Although he was only sixteen, he was tall for his age and was able to look at Nightcrawler at eye level. JT sank his head to his father's chest, sobbing profusely. "Tell me it's not true, Daddy." He said between sobs. "Tell me it's not true!" Kurt put his arms around his son, calmly soothing him. He knew how close JT was to his grandmother. And it was breaking his heart.

"I'm sorry son," He said. "It's true. Your grandmother's not coming back this time." He broke the embrace and looked into JT's eyes. "I need you to be strong for your sister and cousins for me. Can you do that?" JT nodded slowly. "Good," Kurt smiled sadly and kissed JT on the forehead. "Now let me talk to your aunt." JT and Dmitry left, leaving Rogue and Nightcrawler alone. After a few moments, Kurt slowly walked by his sister's side and sat with her on the bed.

"Rogue?" He asked softly. "Are you all right?" Rogue said nothing but kept her face to the skies. Kurt was wondering if she was thinking about the right words to say. Finally, Anna Marie LeBeau tore her gaze away from the heavens and toward her blue elf-like foster brother. Kurt could see the pain in her green eyes. Her face streaked with tears. The joy that Kurt always sees in that Southern Belle wasn't there anymore.

"Mama's really gone, isn't she?" She asked weakly. Kurt nodded trying to hold back his tears. As much as he hated his mother at this point, what he hated even more was seeing his sister cry. Rogue rested her head against Kurt's shoulder, her gloved hands intertwining with his odd three-fingered ones.

"Ah can't believe it, Kurt." Rogue cried. "She just talked t' me three weeks ago." She lifted her head up to face Kurt. "How did she die?"

Kurt shrugged.

"Ya don't know?!"

"Logan said that information is classified."

"But we're her children, Kurt! We're her family, we're all she had! Why can't they tell us?!" Rogue buried her head to her knees, her shoulders shaking. Kurt lifted her up by the shoulders and held her, careful not to touch the bare flesh, rocking her gently.

"Shhh, calm down _Liebchen. _It is all right." He whispered softly to her. Rogue rested her head back on Kurt's shoulders as she felt his tail soothingly rub her back, making her relaxed.

"It just don't make sense," She said, sleepily. "Ah just wish she faked her death like the last 100 times."

Kurt chuckled softly at that expression. "But unfortunately, it's not one of those times." He told her. Rogue stayed silent. Kurt always had something to say about these things. Mostly funny, sometimes philosophical. But this time, he didn't have anything to say. Rogue understood because Kurt was mad at Raven for three years. But this couldn't just leave him speechless! Rogue felt tears coming down her eyes again and she broke down into uncontrollable sobs. Kurt continued to hold her, rocking her gently, and softly cooing her until Rogue finally fell asleep. Kurt stayed with her all the night, making sure she doesn't have any nightmares or crying fits. He looked at a picture by Rogue's bedside of the two of them. Mystique took that picture. They were in Coney Island. Before Kurt married Ororo and Rogue married Remy. Before the kids, before the move to San Francisco. They were so young and carefree back then. Kurt blinked hard to fight his tears. _Life was so much simpler then. _Then he heard some faint music coming from Dmitry's bedroom. After a brief check on Rogue, he searched the boy's room. Dmitry was fast asleep but his CD Player was playing a song that Kurt hardly recognized. The lyrics however, were so deep that Kurt couldn't help but cry.

_How do I say goodbye to what we had? T_

_he good times that made us laugh _

_Outweigh the bad._

_I thought we'd get to see forever_

_But forevers gone away_

_Its so hard to say goodbye to yesterday.**_


	2. One Headlight

_**OKAY: I PROBABLY DIDN'T SAY IT B4, BUT THIS IS MY FIRST FANFIC. SO LET'S MAKE THIS PLAIN: I DON'T OWN NIGHTCRAWLER(AS MUCH AS I WANT TO), ROGUE, WOLVERINE, OR NICK FURY. I DO HOWEVER OWN, KRISTY JO, TAMARRA, LARA, JT, JASON, NATALIE, BECCA, OLIVER, DMITRY, & LENA. OH I DON'T OWN MYSTIQUE OR NOCTURNE EITHER OR THE SONG REFERENCES. ENJOY CHAP 2!**_

ONE HEADLIGHT

For two days, the Institute stayed silent like a funeral. No one said anything. Not even Dmitry, who always cracked jokes every now and then. The mansion stayed death silent over Mystique's death when finally, the silence was too loud for Lara Nairobi Worthington, the daughter of Warren Worthington III (Angel), to bear.

"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" She shouted to her friends. "I know Mystique is dead and all, but cut the silent crap!" She wasn't _all _of our grandmothers! So somebody talk, joke, cry, for God's Sakes, have an orgasm, I don't care. SAY SOMETHING!" Natalie Rasputin and Dmitry looked at their friend in bewilderment.

"Whoa Lara, calm down." Natalie said finally. "It ain't that big of a deal."

"My friends are walking like the living dead," Lara replied. "It's a big deal to me."

"Relax, Bratty." Dmitry said, coming over to her side. "Mystique's death hasn't _totally _sucked the life out of us."

"Yeah, just JT and Lena." Jason Summers added while he was fiddling with some paper clips.

"You do know that Mystique was your girlfriend's grandmother?" Natalie pointed out.

"I know," Jason said. "And I will be there for Becca, just like a boyfriend should be." Natalie rolled her eyes. Despite being a Summers, Jason's personality was a lot like his grandfather, Magneto: straight-up cocky. But being the son of Havok and Polaris, he had the game to back up his talk. His codename though, wasn't helping his ego much.

"I'm sure you would, _Emerald!" _Natalie said laughing. Scowling, Jason hurled Lara's radio at her. However, Natalie phased herself and the radio went right through her stomach and straight at Dmitry, who caught it while turning into steel.

Lara groaned. "Guys, chill." She told them. "I just cleaned my room yesterday."

"Sorry," The three culprits said innocently. Just then the door knocked and a girl around fifteen or sixteen poked her head out. She was of caramel complexion, golden brown hair, and the most beautiful hazel eyes anyone's ever seen on a girl.

"Hey guys," She greeted. "Have any of you seen JT?"

"I haven't seen him," Lara replied.

"Me neither." Natalie added. Then she turned to the boys. "Have either of you seen JT?"

"Last time I saw him, Tamarra, he was headed towards the Danger Room." Jason answered.

"That was two hours ago!" Dmitry corrected. He turned to Tamarra Cabonarra, who was fully inside the room this time. "Your boyfriend's in the Headmaster's office with Nightcrawler, Rogue, Wolverine, St. Joan and some other people."

"Why?"

"Something to do with Mystique's will. That G.I. Joe looking dude with the eye patch is in their with them too."

"Nick Fury?" Natalie corrected.

Dmitry shrugged. "Whatever, he doesn't look furious." Suddenly, as if a light bulb just lit up at the top of her head, Tamarra's eyes lit up.

"Could you see what they're talking about?" She asked.

"What, _spy on them?" _Dmitry asked.

Tamarra nodded.

"No way! Wolverine's in there, we'll be detected for sure!"

"Not if you spy through the secret passage way." Lara suggested. Dmitry looked at his best friend in confusion.

"What 'secret passage way'?" He asked. Lara just smiled and took Dmitry and Jason by the hands and flew effortlessly out her room. Natalie and Tamarra exchanged quick looks and followed their friend not long after.

* * *

The tension building up the Headmaster's Office was so sharp you needed Wolverine's claws to cut it. Kristy Jo Kyle sat in the chair which is usually occupied by her best friend, Mercedes Parkridge-Rasputin aka Ricochet. But she and Colossus are taking "personal time" in Russia. Two gruff looking men stood on the opposite sides of the petite Texas Tomboy. Logan Howlett stood on the right side of Kristy while Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., stood on her left. Across from her, sat Kurt Wagner (Nightcrawler) and Anna Marie LeBeau (Rogue) both with tired expressions on their faces. Their children, Talia & JT Wagner, Oliver Raven and Rebecca Irene LeBeau, and Lena Danielle Parkridge sat on the couch by the door, each with their own look of pain, impatience, and weariness on their faces. Apparently, Mystique's death has taken a toll on the Wagner family than expected. Kristy Jo managed to break the silence that had been filling the room for about ten minutes.

"So," she began. "How's everybody?" When no one said anything, Kristy Jo continued. "Well, Fury here's got the last will an' testament of your mother. If ya'll interested."

"What about her death?!" Rogue shouted. "Ain't you gonna give us the autopsy?"

Logan opened his mouth to say something but Fury cut him off.

"_**Well they said she died easy of a broken heart **__**disease**__** as I listened through the cemetery **__**trees**__**." **_He told them cryptically. The two odd siblings looked at him in confusion.

"'Broken heart disease'?" Kurt repeated.

Fury nodded. "And that's all I got to say." Kristy Jo just looked at the older man like he was nuts. "Okay," She said. "On _that _note, let's get on t' reading the will, shall we?"

Behind one of the bookshelves in the office was a special passage way that only the first two teams of X-Men and the first twelve Untouchables know about. The passage goes from the Main Hangar and leads to the Headmaster's Office or outside. Being the daughter of one of the _first five _X-Men and one of the Cole Sisters (who were the most powerful Bang-Baby Siblings yet), Lara knew her way through the mansion. She also knew which spots would be the best to eavesdrop, undetected.

"Lara, how did you know about this place?" Jason asked.

"My dad told me." Lara replied.

"How does your _dad _know about this?"

Lara looked at Jason. "Most of the first X-Men knew about the secret passage. And the kids of the first X-Men use this to eavesdrop on their parents' conversations."

"Wait, Dad and Mom never told me about this. Not even Uncle Scott."

"I'm surprised," Natalie laughed. "I sure thought Cyclops or Havok told you and then you'd do something mischievous afterwards." She thought for a moment. "Then again, I'm not surprised at all."

"Oh, don't get smart with me, Rasputin!" Jason sneered. "You're in the same boat as me. You didn't even know this passage even existed!"

"Actually, I found it myself and my mom told me about it." Jason became dumbfounded. He shook his head and murmured: "I gotta visit more often."

"Hush!" Tamarra hissed. "Miss Kyle's reading the will!" The kids came over to where Tamarra was and looked through the five peepholes, each giving them clear view of what's going on.

Kristy Jo Kyle put on her reading glasses (because the writing was too small for her eyes) and read Mystique's will:

"_This is the Last Will and Testament of Raven Darkholme:_

"_I, Raven Darkholme, have now passed on to this berated, loathsome world. And this time I'm not coming back. I know it's hard for most of you to believe considering how many times you fought with me and I still lived. But it felt like it was my time to go. I felt that way ever since Destiny died. Do you know how long ago that was? I was __**so alone, and I feel just like somebody , I ain't changed, but I know I aint the same. But somewhere here in between the city walls of dyin dreams, I think her death it must be killin me. **__I kept wondering what kept me alive for this long. As I contemplate the last days of my life, I finally found my answer. My children. Anna and Kurt. Despite everything that went on with me, you stood by my side. A mother like me does not deserve children like you. You've also blessed me with five beautiful grandchildren: Oliver Raven, Talia Josephine, Rebecca Irene, Johannes Timothy and Alena Danielle. Thank you for these blessings. I know I haven't given you both much, Anna and Kurt, but hopefully I can do something meaningful when I'm gone. I leave you both with my estate, located in Caldecott County, Mississippi. The estate includes an old Victorian Mansion(you know which one, Rogue), roughly 600 acres of land including a small lake, some old antiques dating back to late eighteenth century and couple of 67' Mustangs. Good Condition. Comes to about roughly…." _Kristy Jo stopped mid-sentence, looked at the figure again and cursed at herself.

"Why did ya stop reading?" Rogue asked.

"Yeah, Kristy Jo. What's up?" Logan asked. Kristy Jo said nothing but simply stood up and handed the will over to Logan so he could look at it. "So?" Logan asked, confused. When Kristy Jo pointed to a line near the bottom of the page, his eyes went wide.

"What's going on?" asked Talia, confused.

"Beats me." Oliver replied.

"Why did St. Joan stop reading?" Dmitry asked from behind the bookcase. "I want to know how much the estate is!"

"Maybe _that's _why she stopped reading." Lara said.

"_Kristiana_," Kurt said softly. "Please. Just tell us how much the estate is." Kristy Jo looked from Fury to Logan. Logan put his hand on her shoulder and gave a short nod. Taking a deep breath, Kristy Jo went back to her seat and finished her thought.

"_Comes to roughly $200,000,000." _She said. People were shocked when Kristy Jo said 'two hundred,' but were shocked to _silence _when she put the million dollars after it. Rogue and Kurt just sat there with their mouths gaping. The kids stood their in their positions, frozen solid. And the kids in the secret passages couldn't find the words to say. As a matter of fact, they couldn't even _breathe! _No one could. Even Fury was speechless. How could Mystique get all that money? Barely standing anymore silence, Logan broke it.

"You know, now would be a good time to _breathe, _people?" He said casually. Everyone took a deep breath out and snapped back to reality. Kurt and Rogue looked at each other, confused. "_Two hundred million?" _Rogue mouthed. JT and Oliver were jumping up and down screaming "We're rich!" while Talia and Becca just kept talking really, really fast. Lena just shook her head. The kids in the secret passage way, were equally elated.

"Okay," Kristy Jo announced ending all the pandemonium. "Now that we got all the shock out of the way, there is still more to this will I wanna read." She put back on her glasses and cleared her throat as she continued:

"_It's a lot of money to take in, I know. If you want to know how'd I came to acquire such wealth, let's just say your Aunt Destiny and I had some close calls and lucky breaks. Speaking of Destiny, I understand that Kitty Pryde was the owner of her diaries. I also know that she gave her life to save yours. For that I apologize. I know how good of a friend she was to the both of you."_

Kurt lowered his head at the mention of Kitty. Rogue, seeing her brother's pain, put one gloved hand on his back, rubbing it soothingly. Natalie, who was in the secret passage way, turned her head away to keep from crying. Dmitry put his arms around her to heal her pain.

"_For a long time, Kitty was the current owner of Destiny's Diaries." _Kristy Jo continued reading. _"I feel that it is only fair that those diaries will be placed in the safe hands of Kitty's daughter, Natasha-Anastasia Carmen Illyana Rasputin. You know her best as Natalie." _Logan eyed Kristy Jo questionably. "That's Natalie's real name?" He asked.

Kristy Jo nodded and continued reading: "_I prefer to be buried beside my Irene in our Mississippi home and have a private ceremony. Anna Marie, Kurt, if there isn't much trouble I want you both to travel to Caldecott and claim my things. There are a lot of things I hold dear and I want to know they will be in safe hands. So I have provided a map and directions for my house. I want you to travel by road. I hear road trips bring out the best in everybody. Take the children with you, they can bring someone if they would like. Once again, I'm sorry for all the pain I caused. I wish I could further explain myself, but time doesn't permit me to. So I took the liberty writing you all a letter expressing how I feel. You may think it's nothing, but it means everything. I care for you all deeply. Hope you live a better life than I ever did. Signed: Raven Darkholme aka Mystique."_

When Kristy Jo finished reading, the room fell silent again.

"Well?" Logan ventured.

"Does Grandma Raven really want us to go to Mississippi?" Lena asked.

"Apparently, sugah." Rogue answered, looking back at her daughter. "Ya'll kids don't have to go. Me an' your Uncle Kurt can just-"

"I'm not going." Kurt interrupted.

"Why not, Dad?" JT said.

"Because I said so," Kurt replied bluntly.

"That's not a good reason, Kurt." Rogue scowled.

"What do you want me to say, Anna?"

"Say you'll come with us." Kurt gave her a face and Rogue sighed. "Well if not for Mama," she said. "Go for me and the kids."

"Yeah, Dad." Talia agreed. "We want to go to Mississippi."

"Me too," Becca added. "I want to see that old Victorian house."

"No, ya don't!" Kristy Jo objected. "That house _**smells of cheap wine & cigarettes. This place is always such a mess, sometimes I think Id like to watch it burn."**_

"You don't mean that, Kris." Oliver said.

"Yeah, I do!"

"Okay, so Mama and Irene's house was a little messy," Rogue agreed. "But it was home, Kurt. So let's take a road trip down there. What do ya say?" Kurt looked at his sister, to the kids, to Logan and Kristy Jo, to Fury.

"We don't have a van that could fit all of us," Kurt reasoned.

"No worries, honey." Kristy Jo smiled. "My Winnebago is enough to fit at least ten people. And Logan has a jeep."

"Wait, are ya'll coming with us?" Rogue beamed. Kristy Jo smiled and turned to Logan. Logan rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Alright fine, we'll go." Logan said. "But you're paying for gas money. And Kristy and I aren't responsible for the ten little troublemakers if they get into it."

Kurt looked around. "Logan, there only five kids coming with us."

"Oh, I'm not talking about _your _kids, Elf." Logan replied as he walked toward the bookcase. He pulled a red book and the bookcase revved around, tumbling Natalie, Dmitry, Lara, Jason, and Tamarra right into the office. "I mean _these _kids."

"Hey, guys." Lara said nervously. "What's up?"

"Were you guys _spying _on us?!" Kristy Jo asked angrily.

"IT WAS TAMI'S IDEA!" The four kids shouted, pointing at Tamarra. She just glared at them.

"I told her that Wolverine was gonna sense us." Dmitry said.

"Actually, it was the smell of AXE body spray that tipped me off," Logan corrected. "Otherwise, we wouldn't have known you were there."

Jason looked down on the floor, sheepish. Natalie, who knew her "big brother" like the back her hand, slapped him upside his head.

"Stupid!" She hissed. "You blew our cover!" Logan laughed and turned to Tamarra. "So I assume you want to come with us to Mississippi?"

"I don't think there's room," Tamarra said calmly.

"We'll make room." Logan said simply. "Your boyfriend's in a crisis. You're his support." He looked up at the other four kids. "That goes for the rest of ya."

"Yes!" Lara squealed. "Finally, out of this Institute!" She flew happily to her room.

"Thanks Logan." Rogue said sweetly.

"Don't mention it, Rogue." Logan turned to Kurt, who was silent through all this. "Elf? What about you, in or out?"

Kurt sighed. "I don't know, Logan." "C'mon, Kurt!" Rogue coaxed. "_**Come on try a little, nothing is forever."**_

"_**There's got to be something better than in the middle,"**_ Kurt said.

"Don't worry Kurt," Kristy Jo assured, pointing to Logan. _**"Me & Cinderella, we put it all together."**_

"How did you manage to do that?" Kurt asked.

"Let's just say I know people who know people." Then Kristy caught Logan's expression. "What?"

"Don't ever call me 'Cinderella,'" He scowled.

"All right," Kurt said, finally. "I'll come." Everyone cheered as Logan put a hand on Kurt's shoulder.

"That's more like it, Elf." He said. "C'mon. Let's go do some work on the Winnebago."

Nick Fury finally spoke up. "You're _seriously _gonna take that piece of junk?" He said.

"It ain't a piece of junk!" Kristy Jo objected. "It works perfectly fine. _**We can drive it **__**home**__**." **_

Fury snickered. "_**With one headlight."**_

_**THE BOLD ITALIC PHRASES ARE LYRICS FROM THE SONG: ONE HEADLIGHT **_**BY THE WALLFLOWERS. I DON'T OWN THE X-MEN. OR THE SONG. THE OCS, HOWEVER, I DO.**


	3. Life is a Highway

**A/N: ****THANKS 4 THE REVIEWS! KEEP EM' COMING! SO BEFORE I MOVE ON 2 CHAPTER 3, HERE'S A LITTLE QUICK 411 ON THE KIDS:**

**ACE/REBBECCA LeBEAU-GAMBIT & ROGUE'S DAUGHTER  
**

**ANACONDA/NATALIE RASPUTIN-COLOSSUS & KITTY PRYDE'S DAUGHTER**

**CELESTIAL/LARA WORTHINGTON-ANGEL'S DAUGHTER**

**EMERALD/JASON SUMMERS-HAVOK & POLARIS' SON**

**JACK/OLIVER RAVEN LeBEAU-GAMBIT & ROGUE'S SON**

**NIGHTSHADOW/JOHANNES TIMOTHY "JT" WAGNER-NIGHTCRAWLER & STORM'S SON**

**NOCTURNE/TALIA JOSEPHINE "TJ" WAGNER-NIGHTCRAWLER & SCARLET WITCH'S DAUGHTER**

**PLASMA/TAMARRA CABONARRA-JT'S GIRLFRIEND**

**SCRABBLE/ALENA "LENA" DANIELLE PARKRIDGE-ROUGE'S DAUGHTER**

**STEEL/DMITRY MARX-JT'S BEST FRIEND.**

**THERE YOU HAVE IT! **

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN THE X-MEN; JUST THE ORIGINAL CHARACTERS. I DON'T OWN THE SONG: "LIFE IS A HIGHWAY" EITHER. TOM COCHRANE DOES (NOT RASCAL FLATTS; THEY ONLY REMADE THE SONG)  
**

LIFE IS A HIGHWAY

"Dude, would you just _start _the thing!" Oliver Raven LeBeau groaned. He and the eight other young heroes gathered around Jason Summers as he tried rev the antique Winnebago.

"I'm trying!" He said. "The stupid engine is stalled!"

"Use your solar power!" Tamarra Cabonarra suggested.

"It doesn't work that way!" Jason snapped.

Johannes Timothy Wagner groaned under his breath. "Look, isn't there _some _way you can get this piece of crap started?"

"It's NOT a piece of crap!" Kristy Jo Kyle objected.

"Then how come Jason won't start it?" Dmitry Marx ventured. Kristy Jo sighed. "Give me them keys," She said as she snatched them from Jason's grasp. "I swear ya'll don't know _jack squat _about operating a Winnebago!"

"Because _none _of us _lived _in the sixties!" Jason pointed out. "As a matter of fact, _you _weren't even _born_ in the sixties!"

Kristy Jo glared at the nineteen-year-old mutant. "At least I ain't the one who got us stranded in the middle of Route 66!" She sneered. Jason just scowled. They had left for Mississippi Wednesday night and had expect to go back to San Francisco that Monday morning. But that Thursday afternoon, Jason's magnetic powers somehow messed with the old caravan's engine as they were passing the Arizona/New Mexico Beltline and now they're stranded in the middle of nowhere. Logan and Kurt have drove off in the jeep to the nearest gas station, leaving Kristy Jo and Rogue alone with the kids. Rogue, exhausted from the heat and stress, was asleep in the back of the van while Kristy Jo was trying to find a way to start her family's old heirloom. The other kids tried to find ways to entertain themselves: Talia Wagner, Natalie Rasputin, and Becca LeBeau were playing a game of cards while Lara Worthington was fiddling with her old portable radio. JT and Tamarra were in the back, in deep conversation. Lena Parkridge was in the front seat, watching Oliver, Jason, Kristy Jo, and Dmitry fix the old caravan.

"You know, you could come out here and help." Oliver said to his half-sister. Lena just smiled. "No, thanks. I'm good here." She said.

Sighing, Oliver turned back to Kristy Jo and Jason, who were arguing on how to fix the car.

"Get your hands off!" She demanded.

"Look! I'm a trained mechanic." Jason said. "I can see what stalled this junkpile."

"_You _stalled it with your powers! And if you call it a 'junkpile' one more time, Ah'm gonna put you in a headlock!"

"Guys chill!" Oliver butted in. "Why don't we get Becca to charge the battery?"

Becca looked up from her game. "It's not that simple, Oli," She explained. "If I'm going to jumpstart the thing, I need jumper cable." Kristy Jo sighed and turned to Lena. "Lena, call your Uncle Kurt," She told her. "Somethin' tells me we're gonna need a lot more than just gas."

* * *

"What's the matter, Elf?" Logan Howlett asked his friend. Kurt Wagner looked up from his drink and turned to Logan.

"I'm just thinking, that's all." He replied.

"About what?" Logan coaxed. Kurt smiled faintly. He knew Logan wasn't going to get him out of this.

"Well," Kurt began. "I keep thinking about Mother's death."

"It's getting to ya?"

"I don't know yet. Mystique has done so many outrageous, bad things in her life. Most of them unforgivable. But I still forgave her; I still let her become apart of the children's lives, hoping she would change." Kurt sighed as he took another drink. "Guess I was wrong."

"But she _did_ change, Kurt." Logan reasoned. "She organized Venus Force, she turned her life around. Why were you so angry with her?"

Kurt ignored Logan's last question. "Maybe I _am _like Mystique," he said, almost to himself. "Maybe I'm going to turn like her."

"Don't talk like that, Elf." Logan said sternly. "Your parents were some pretty messed up villains, but you rose above all of that." When Kurt's melancholy expression didn't change, Logan sighed. "Look, let me tell you something that a wise man told me one time: _**Life's like a road that you **__**travel**__** on when there's one day here and the next day gone. Sometimes you bend sometimes you stand; Sometimes you turn your back to the wind." **_

Kurt's expression turned to surprised confusion.

"Logan," He said. "I didn't know you were so knowledgeable."

Logan smiled. "It comes with experience. Fact is, the life you lead, depends on the road you take. And you have been going on a good road to me." Kurt smiled and was about to say something when his cell phone rang. Hearing Lena's ringtone, he answered the phone.

"Is everything all right, Liesel?"

"_No, not really," _He heard Lena's voice on the other end.

"What's wrong?"

"_Well, Jason and Auntie Kristy Jo are about to get at each other's throats, not to mention we're all hungry."_

"Well, your Uncle Logan and I just got the gas tank, so we're on our way."

"_Oh, and Kristy told me to tell you bring some jumper cable."_

"Why?"

"_Because Oli thinks Becca can charge the battery up."_

Kurt sighed. "All right, I'll tell Logan. We'll see you later."

Kurt ended the call and looked at Logan, who gave his friend the 'What-now?' look.

"You have any jumper cable?" Kurt asked, smiling.

"Yeah, why?"

* * *

"I DID IT!" Lara squealed happily. "I DID IT!" JT and Tamarra ended their conversation and rushed to where Lara was while Dmitry came over to Lara's side.

"What happened?" Dmitry asked, concerned.

"Why are you screaming, Lara?" JT asked. "Aunt Rogue is sleeping."

"Did you fix the GPS?" Tamarra added.

"No." Lara answered. She held up her portable radio. "I fixed my Mini-Radio!" Groaning and rolling their eyes, JT, Tamarra, and Dmitry got back to their business. But Natalie came over to Lara's side.

"You _finally _got that thing working!" She exclaimed. "Great, now we can listen to some music!" She grabbed the radio from Lara's grasp and started to tune it.

"Give it back, Nat!" Lara whined. "That's mine!"

"Relax, I'm just going to find a station where they play Lady GaGa." Natalie said.

"Uh unh, hold up." JT interjected. "I don't want to hear no Lady Gaga. You better turn to Ne-Yo, Jamie Foxx, or something."

"Linkin' Park!" Talia called out.

"You're not the only one on this trip." JT argued.

"Neither are you." Natalie said.

"And _this _is not your radio!" Lara snapped as she snatched the radio from Natalie. "_I'll _turn to the station. She was fidgeted around with the tune button until she finally heard Dmitry said "Stop. That's my song!" Lara finally stopped tuning and listened to the song. She smiled widely and bopped her head.

"Oh yeah! I love this song!" She said.

"Turn it up, turn it up!" Oliver called out. Lara turned up the radio and soon, everyone, with the exception of Jason, were dancing and singing to Rascal Flatts "Life is a Highway":

_**Life is a highway**_

_**I want to ride it all night long**_

_**If you're going my way**_

_**I want to drive it all night long**_

_**Through all the cities and all these towns**_

_**It's in my blood and it's all around**_

_**I love you now like I loved you then**_

_**This is the road and these are the hands**_

_**From Mozambique to those M**__**emphis**__** nights**_

_**The Khyber pass to Vancouver's lights**_

_**Knock me down get back up again**_

_**You're in my blood I'm not a lonely man**_

_**There's no load I can't hold**_

_**Road so rough this I know**_

_**I'll bee there when the light comes in**_

_**Tell 'em we're survivors…….**_

"Dude, please!" Jason groaned. "Why are ya'll listening to this garbage?"

"It's _not _garbage," Becca said. "It's one of the best road trip songs ever. You need to hear some better music."

"Yeah, other than that crap _you _listen to." Natalie added.

"You guys stick with country and whatnot," Jason said. "I will be forever faithful to Kanye West and T-Pain." Becca and Natalie rolled their eyes.

Rogue woke up just in time to see Kurt and Logan inserting jumper cable in the car battery and Becca holding the other side.

"What's goin' on?" She yawned as she got out of the van to inspect. "What's with the jumper cable?"

"We're going to have Becca charge the cable into the battery." Logan said.

Rogue's eyes went wide. "And who's bright idea was that?!" Their eyes shifted to Oliver, who smiled sheepishly.

"Well, since Jason stalled the battery with his magnetism," He reasoned. "It makes since to charge it with Becky's energy."

"This _better _not hurt your sister, Oliver!" Rogue warned sternly.

"Don't worry, Anna," Kurt assured. "Rebecca's only going to charge it."

"And Logan's holdin' the end near the battery." Kristy Jo added, smiling.

"I still don't see why." Logan said.

"You have a healin' factor. If you get electrocuted, ya won't die."

"Thanks for the support, Texas Pete." Logan tightened the two ends of the cable to the battery. "Okay, Ace." He called out to Becca. "Are you ready?" Ace grabbed the other two ends of the cable and nodded.

"Kurt, on my signal, rev the engine up." Kristy Jo said to Nightcrawler. Kurt, who was in the driver's seat, put the key in the ignition and waited for Kristy. "Now!" She called out.

Kurt turned the engine on as soon as Becca charged the cable. Blue energy ignited the cable as the battery soon went from dead to life. Kurt revved up the engine and caused the battery to spark, sending Logan flying.  
"Logan!" Kristy Jo shouted, coming over to him. "Are you all right?" Becca, Oliver, Jason, Rogue, Lena, and Kurt also huddled around him. The rest of the kids looked through the Winnebago, worried. After a couple of seconds, Logan slowly sat up. His hair was slightly charred, face scarred, and his left arm was busted. After a few short grunts, his face returned to normal and his hair grew back. The scars on his arm were gone but he couldn't feel any feeling for a moment. He looked around at all the concerned faces.  
"What?" He said. "It's not like any of you haven't seen me almost die before. Lighten up!"  
"Well don't scare us like that again." Rogue said as she and Kristy Jo helped him on his feet.  
"We should get going," Kurt said, looking towards the sky. "It will be dark soon, and the kids are hungry."  
"There's a restaurant about 10 miles down the road," Kristy Jo suggested.  
"Then let's get going then!" Jason announced. He started for the driver's seat when Kurt stopped him.  
"Not so fast, Jason." He said. "We can't let you drive and risk another stall. Let Becca drive." Becca smiled and blew a kiss at her scowling boyfriend.  
"All right, guys!" She said to the kids in the van. "We're hitting the road!" The kids cheered as they got in their seats. Kurt, Rogue, Logan, and Kristy Jo headed for the jeep. Kurt stopped short when he saw Lena staring at the sky.  
"Is everything all right, Lena?" He asked.  
"Yeah, fine." Lena assured. "I just have this weird feeling we're being watched." She heading back to the Winnebago and sat in the passenger's seat. As the two cars drove off, a dark figure walked amongst the shadows. He looked to the skies and took out this very odd communicator.  
"Icaria," he said in a low voice. "It has begun." He then walked away in the sunset, singing a song that was recently stuck in his head: _**Life is a highway, I want to ride it all night long…**_

_**WELL, WELL, WELL?**_

_**WHO IS THIS MYSTERIOUS FIGURE?**_

_**HAS LENA SEEN HIM BEFORE?**_

_**AND WHAT DOES HE HAVE IN STORE FOR NIGHTCRAWLER & ROGUE?**_

_**WILL JASON SUMMERS EVER STOP BEING A PUNK(LOL!)**_

_**ALL THESE QUESTIONS WILL BE ANSWRED AND MORE!!! KEEP READING!!!! PLZ REVIEW!!!!!!!  
**_


	4. Nightcrawler:Miles Away

**A/N: THESE NEXT TWO CHAPTERS (4&5) ARE TAKEN FROM NIGHTCRAWLER & ROGUE'S POV. I WANT TO DEDICATE AT LEAST A CHAPTER TO THEM, TO LET MY READERS UNDERSTAND HOW THEY ARE DEALING WITH THIS. CHAPTER 4 IS FROM NIGHTCRAWLER'S POV. CHAPTER 5 WILL DEAL WITH ROGUE'S POV. PLEASE REVIEW!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN MARVEL CHARACTERS; JUST THE OCS. NOW CHAPTER 4!**

MILES AWAY

We arrived in Mississippi two days ago. The kids were pretty excited when they settled in Mystique's Victorian mansion. But Kristy Jo was right about one thing: that place _did _smell of cheap wine and cigarettes. It was a mess, but not quite. Everything was quite organized. The only problem is, getting everything packed or trying to figure out weather to sell my mother's things or keep them. Rogue and I had a talk about this in her old room. Not really a talk, so much as an argument.

"How could ya sell Mama's stuff like that, Kurt?" She began.

"She's not going to use it anymore," I argued. "And we don't know if the kids want the things."

"They might!" Rogue snapped. "You just haven't asked 'em.

I sighed. "What will a bunch of teenagers want with a few antique things?"

"That's all they got left to remember their grandma, Kurt. Why can't ya forget about what happened between you an' Mama?" I stood silent for a moment. No one knew why I was so angry at Mother. Not even Logan or Kristy Jo. The only person who knew was Rogue and it was mainly because she was family. But I can't just let that get in the way of children's grief. Right? Dismissing my thoughts, I turned to Rogue.

"If she hadn't turned me in to Stryker and left me there to die at the hands of Weapon X, it would've been different." I said, rather coldly. Rouge, for her part, said nothing and kept her head down towards the ground. Knowing the conversation is over, I teleported out of the room and landed in a tall tree. I balanced myself to a comfortable position and let my tail dangle loosely on a branch. So I sat there, thinking. Thinking about my current state of mind:

_**My friends will ask me how I'm doin'**_

_**But I just cant lie to em**_

_**Not feeling fine today**_

_**I saw my dreams they were a**_

_**Ship on the ocean now it**_

_**Looks like they're miles away**_

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a sword swishing. I slowing shifted my head to the right and saw my son's girlfriend, Tamarra Desiree Cabonarra aka Plasma, doing some combat exercises with a sword I'd given her for her thirteenth birthday. Not just any sword either, my favorite one. She calls it 'Excalibur.' "You're getting very good at the sword, _Tamarzi." _I called out. Despite the darkness, I could see Tamarra through my eyes. She flinches a little, but she doesn't break her concentration. I could see her smile as she said: "Well, I had a good teacher."

"May I ask why you are training on your vacation?" I inquired.

Tamarra threw the sword swiftly at her target, which aimed perfectly at the bulls-eye. "Why are you _sulking _on you're vacation?," She asked, finally looking at me up the tree.

I smiled. " Touche. So, do you want to come up or should I come down?" Tamarra smiled and flew up to the top of the tree and sat next to me. I looked at her for a while. Tamarra has gotten much more powerful and very mature than when we first met five years ago. When Tamarra first met the Untouchable X-Men, she was ten years old and had accidentally blown up a gas station with her new mutant powers, killing 6 people in the process. Well, the local people in her community wanted to kill her so they created this big mob. And guess who'd they assigned to go rescue her? **(Hint, hint?)** Anyway, I knew Tamarra had potential to be good, so I took it upon myself teach her. It was a hard struggle, but she's learned so much about her powers. Tamarra dates my son, JT Wagner. Not that I'm mad about it; I knew she had feelings for him ever since she came to the Institute and JT liked her as well. I'm just glad they both acted on them.

"So what're doing up on a tree?" She asked me.

I shrugged. "Just thinking, that's all."

"Everyone keeps wondering when Mystique's death is going to hit you." I looked at Tami. She was biting her pinky nail. She does that when's she's nervous.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, no one has seen you get all mad, except when you talk smack about Raven, and you haven't cried since St. Joan and Wolverine told you what happened."

"Maybe I'm just not ready for the grieving process yet, _Liebling."_

"Why did you hate your mother so much?" Tamarra asked.

"I didn't _hate _her. I was just angry with her."

"For _three years?"_

I shrugged again. "What she did really hurt me."

"What did she do?"

"I can't say." There was silence yet again. The sound of the wind caressing the willow tree leaves filled the air, making the night sound peaceful. Finally, Tamarra spoke again:

"I wish there was something I could say or do to help you with this," She said softly. "I mean I have two crazy grandmothers that I barely talk to. But they're all I got. They're the ones who raised me. I love them _despite _all their mess." She looked at me when she said this: _**I know there's always something we have to go through; That has some deeper meaning but right now I just can't say."**_

"I know," I said nodding. _**"I know there's gonna be a **__**lesson**__** somewhere. I'm gonna think a lot about it later but right now I'm miles away."**_

Tamarra smiled and kissed my cheek. "Well, hopefully, you won't be _too _far away, Elf." I scooted close to Tamarra and put my arms around her, giving her a hug. "_Danke, Tamarzi," _I whispered. As she left for dinner, my gaze turned back to the moon and I thought, without Mystique, my life would seem _so much _easier! No broken promises, no misery, no anger! I can be _**miles away**_ from worry and resentment! I closed my eyes to feel the serenity of that notion. Yes! _**I'm a million miles away, where I don't have to think at 't have to listen to you whisper your little secrets in the hall. Id really **__**love to talk about it **__**but I think I hear my mama calling me**_. But a cold and sad feeling comes over me. My mother's not here. And she's not coming back. No matter how many times I tried to call her. Tears slowly trickled down my eyes and, this time, I didn't stop them. _**But she's Miles away, I'm miles away.**_

_**BOLD ITALICS ARE LYRICS TO **__**MILES AWAY **__**BY MARC COHN. I DON'T OWN THE SONG. PLEASE READ & REVIEW! **__**J**_


	5. Rogue: Walking on Broken Glass

**ROGUE'S POV(in case you weren't paying attention!)**

WALKING ON BROKEN GLASS

Ah'm so drained today, ah don't even feel like going downstairs to eat no breakfast. Ah keep hearin' Kristy Jo's voice telling me to come downstairs an' eat but nothing moves in mah room. Ah'm telling ya, my mind says on thang, my body says something complete different. I faint sound from behind me. A muffled BAMF! Ah know who it is. Ah didn't turn around.

"Anna?" The voice asked, concerned. "Are you all right?"

Kurt Wagner. Nightcrawler. The Blue Elf. My foster-brother. It was mighty-nice of him to be so concerned of me but right now, ah just want some peace and quiet.

"Ah'm fine, Kurt." I said under mah pillow. "Ah just wanna be left alone." Then ah smelled a pleasant aroma. Ah lifted mah head up an' saw Kurt holdin' up a plate of scrambled eggs, sausages n' bacon, and two slices of French toast.

"I thought you might be hungry," He smiled. Usually, in mah state of mind, I'd turn down a plate. But I couldn't resist how loving an' sweet Kurt was being t' me. An' besides, ah was hungry. Smiling back at Kurt ah took the plate and sat up.

"Got any orange juice?" I asked between mouthfuls. Kurt teleported out of my room for 5 seconds. Then came back with a tall glass of orange juice. "Thanks." I said. After a long sip, I looked at Kurt for a long time, neither of us saying anything. Then I started the conversation.

"So, Tamarra tells me you two had a nice little chat." I began.

Kurt shrugged.

"Get some things out?"

"No, not really."

"You ain't got t' be so bitter, Kurt. It happened three years ago."

Mama was working undercover for Venus Force. The job was to inflirtatrate Weapon X and take down Stryker. What she didn't realize was that Stryker had taken Kurt hostage and did some evil experiments with him. Mama wanted so much to rescue Kurt but she couldn't blow her cover so she tortured Kurt right along with Weapon X. Kurt almost died when we rescued him. Ah stayed by his side when he woke up. But he could never forget the pain of Mystique did to him. That conversation happened three years ago but I could still remember it like it was yesterday.

* * *

_Raven Darkholme looked at her son in utter shock and hurt. "Kurt, you don't understand," She begged. "I couldn't rescue you. Or else my cover would be blown."_

"_Once again, Mutter, it's always about you!" Kurt whispered angrily. "I should've known someone like you weren't going to change overnight."_

"_Kurt!" Ah whispered. "That's enough!"_

"_That's okay, Anna." Raven assured. "I deserved some of it." Then she straightened up. "But this was an undercover job and I had to act the part! Meaning I had to treat you like any other prisoner!" _

"_It's not about the mission," Kurt said. "It wasn't about you being undercover, it was about you making a promise to me and Rogue and you broke it." Angry tears streamed his eyes. "And I believed you could change."_

"_But I have-" Raven cried._

"_No you haven't!" Kurt interrupted. "You're still the same heartless woman who abandoned your son and used your foster daughter for your own gain. Just get away from me."_

_Raven tried to put a hand on Kurt's shoulder but he violently pushed it back._

"_I SAID LEAVE!" He shouted. "I HATE YOU! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!" Raven looked from Kurt to me an' with tears in her eyes, she left the room. Ah just held mah brother, who was crying bitterly._

_* * *_

"Betrayal still hurts _mien schwester." _Kurt said quietly.

"_**Now everyone of us was made to suffer,**_" Ah told him.

"_**Everyone of us was made to weep."**_

"_**But we've been hurting one another and now the **__**pain**__** has cut too deep…" **_Kurt pointed out. He was right. How many of the ones we love do we have t' hurt to get our points across? Or t' go after some material possession? Or maybe achieve fame? Ah shook mah head.

"We're _**walking on broken glass." **_Ah said softly.

* * *

I took a walk around town to clear mah head. Logan said Mystique's body will be coming to us in a couple of days so we have to stay here a little while longer. The kids seem pretty happy about it. They've never been t' Mississippi and like to take this vacation to their advantage. Kristy Jo is indifferent about it, being that she's from Texas an' all. Logan is just your typical average Logan. Always pissed off. Kurt, on the other hand, just wants t' leave. Me? Ah is just plain ol' misery. Trying t' hide mah tears through mah smile. Ah feel like apart of mah soul just got ripped from me. Mah mama is dead; mah brother doesn't feel like himself an' ah can't help but wonder what the kids are goin' through, especially JT and Lena. I looked up to the heavens above me. _**The sun's still shining in the big blue sky. But it don't mean nothing to me. **_Tears flowed through mah eyes as I sat on a nearby park bench, listening to the winds sympathizing with me. I started beseeching the heavens, looking for any kind of sign of hope n' relief.

"_**Oh let the rain come down," **_Ah said. _**"Let the wind blow through me. I'm living in an empty room with all the windows smashed. And I've got so little left to lose that it feels just like I'm …"**_

"_**Walking on walking on broken glass?"**_ A voice finished mah thought. I turned and saw a woman, about mah age, dressed in Japanese kimono and had a Japanese symbol on her arm. She looked ruthless in appearance, but as she opened her mouth, her voice was as sweet as a summer's rain.

"Hello, Anna Marie." She greeted. Ah looked at her in shock.

"How do ya know mah name?" Ah asked.

"I know a great deal about you." She said. "And of your foster mother and brother."

"You know Mystique an' Nightcrawler?" The woman ignored mah question but instead took out a note an' gave it t' me.

"You and your brother shall arrive at the Black Velvet Bar tomorrow night," She said. "I will have some information about Mystique you will need to know."

"What information?" Suddenly ah was curious.

"You'll find out soon enough," The woman said. She turned to leave when she stopped and looked at me. "If you and your brother run into any trouble," she said. "Tell them that Icaria sent you." Then she left, leavin' me speechless.

_**SONG: **__**WALKING ON BROKEN GLASS **__**BY ANNIE LENNOX. I DON'T OWN IT. WILL NIGHTCRAWLER & ROGUE MEET THIS MYSTERIOUS "ICARIA"? WHAT DOES SHE HAVE ON MYSTIQUE? KEEP READING!!!!!!!!!!!**_


	6. JT: Over my Head

_**A/N: THE NEXT TWO CHAPTERS ARE SHORT, BUT THEY ARE FROM JT AND LENA'S POV. THIS IS WHERE THE RATING STARTS TO COME INTO PLAY….THERE WILL BE A LOT OF BUTT-KICKING INVOLVED BUT I NEED A SONG TO INCORPORATE WITH THE BUTT-KICKING CHAPTER(ANY SUGGESTIONS WILL BE HELPFUL) THIS IS JT'S POV. **_

_**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE X-MEN! I OWN THE OCS! AND I DO NOT OWN THE SONG REFERENCE EITHER! NOW CHAPTER 6!**_

OVER MY HEAD

_**I never knew**_

_**I never knew that everything was falling through**_

_**That everyone I knew was waiting on a cue**_

_**To turn and run when all I needed was the truth**_

_**But that's how it's got to be**_

_**It's coming down to nothing more than apathy**_

_**I'd rather run the other way than stay and see**_

_**The smoke and who's still standing when it clears…..**_

"JT?" I tore my gaze from the clouds to see my girlfriend, Tamarra, standing behind me her hazel eyes wide with concern.

"Are you all right?" I motioned Tamarra to come sit next to me, which she did. I adjusted myself so Tami could sit close to me. I have always liked her company. It was so…comforting, made me forget about everything else. Grandma Raven. My misery. The fact that my dad and my Aunt Rogue hasn't stopped arguing ever since Rogue received that note from this woman. These past two days have been a madhouse. I rested my head on Tamarra's shoulder and my tail wrapped loosely around her waist.

"I'm just thinking, that's all." I told her. Tamarra laughed. "What?"

"Your dad said the exact same thing to me." She replied.

I shrugged. "I guess the Wagner men are very hard thinkers."

"I think you should go talk to your father." I lifted my head up and looked at her in question. "Why?" I asked.

"Because Mystique's death is affecting him more than he says."

"Tami, he's a guy." I reasoned. "Guys deal with grief a little differently than girls do."

"I know _that," _Tami remarked. "It's just that Nightcrawler has so much anger and resentment towards Mystique ,it's almost festering. Not healthy if you ask me." It was Tamarra's turn to rest her head on my shoulder. "If only we'd know _why _your dad was mad at your grandmother, it would put things into a better perspective."

"I tried asking Dad," I told her. "He won't say."

"I know," Tamarra sighed. "He won't tell me either." Then her hazel eyes lit up. "But Rogue knows."

"She does?"

* * *

"WHY ARE YA BEING SUCH A JACKASS ABOUT IT?!?!" Anna Marie LeBeau shouted across her room at her foster-brother, Kurt Wagner, Nightcrawler, my dad. This was the fifth time Rogue had mentioned the note and Black Velvet Bar to him. But every time she mentions it, my father gets more and more pissed. I arrived just in time to see them argue, yet again, about the same thing. Logan Howlett (Wolverine), Kristy Jo Kyle (St. Joan), Jason Summers (Emerald), and Natalie Rasputin (Anaconda), were standing in between the angry siblings. I stood next to Logan, whose expression was a combination of weariness and utter irritation. Kristy Jo just looked like her patience was wearing thin, Natalie hated when the two argued like this. But Jason (his insensitive self) loved _every _minute of it. He lived off that crap.

"WHY DO YOU INSIST ON BRINGING IT UP?!" My dad shouted.

"Because she's our mother!" Rogue snapped. "And her death _deserves _some justice!"

"We don't even know _how she died!" _Dad shot back.

"Are they arguing about the note again?" I whispered to Logan.

"I wish." Logan responded irritably. "The note simply said 'Come to the Black Velvet Bar at Sundown Tonight'. They've been going at it ever since your aunt showed your pops the note."

"And it's drivin' us plain bonkers!" Kristy Jo groaned.

"Why can't ya just let it go, Kurt?" Rogue said, coming up to him. "Why can't ya just let the damn thang go?!"

"YOU WEREN'T THE ONE WHO WAS IN A TORTURE CHAMBER EVERY DAY FOR ONE MONTH!"

"IT WAS _THREE YEARS AGO!" _

"_What _was three years ago?" I asked. Dad and Aunt Rogue tore their gazes from each other to look at me.

"What did you say, JT?" Dad asked. Oh, great. Why did I open my big mouth? There was no turning back now. Everyone was looking at me. But then again, Tamarra was right. Whatever Dad was mad at with Grandma Raven, it was eating away at him. And it was turning my loving father into someone neither Aunt Rogue, my cousins, my half-sister, nor I recognized.

"What happened three years ago, Dad?" I repeated. "Why are you so angry at Grandma?"

Dad stood silent for a moment. Then his gaze shifted slowly to Rogue who had her hand on her hips.

"Well," she sneered. "Ain't ya gonna tell him?"

"Of course, I am!" Dad snapped. "Just not in front of these people." He took me by the hand and led me to Aunt Rogue's old room. Aunt Rogue followed, signaling Logan and Kristy Jo to come with them as well.

"Natalie, Jason," I heard Logan say. "Go back to the kitchen and eat your breakfast. This is grown folks' business."

"Then how come JT gets to be in the conversation?" Jason asked bluntly. "He's_ sixteen_, for God's Sakes! I'm _nineteen_!"

"Ya don't get out of our faces, ya won't live t' see _twenty._" Kristy Jo threatened.

Jason laughed nervously. "Man, I suddenly got an appetite." He and Natalie left for the kitchen but I have a feeling they will be back, with the other kids, listening to a every word behind this door.

_**Everyone knows I'm in**_

_**Over my head**_

_**Over my head**_

_**With eight seconds left in overtime**_

_**She's on your mind**_

_**She's on your mind**_

I sat on the bed next to Kristy Jo. Dad was crouched on the computer desk while Aunt Rogue sat on the computer chair. Logan stood with his back leaning against the door.

"Why do you want to know about what happened to me three years ago, Johannes?" Dad began.

"Because whatever happened that made you so pissed off at Grandma, it's making you all…" I was searching for the right word when Kristy Jo found it for me. Sort of.

"Like Logan gets every time Jason takes his beer!" She finished. I looked at her questionably.

"A little _less _angry than that, but yeah." I said.

"Okay," Dad confessed. "So I haven't been myself lately."

"_Lately?" _Logan repeated. "You've gone off the deep end, Elf."

Rogue glared at Logan then turned back to Dad.

"Listen, Kurt," She said. "This thing that happened between you and Mama, ya got t' let it go sugah."

"What was it that Mystique did t' ya that made ya hate her so much?" Kristy Jo asked. Dad opened his mouth to say something when my cousin, Lena Parkridge, walked through the door. She was Aunt Rogue's daughter but she didn't have the same dad as my cousins Oli and Becca. We were the same age, only I was a couple of months older.

"What is it, Lena?" I asked.

"Nothing," She shrugged. "I just wanted to make sure you all didn't kill each other yet."

Logan rolled his eyes. "Did Summers sent you to spy on us?" He grunted.

"No!" Lena objected. "But they all want to know what's causing Uncle Kurt his breakdown."

"I'm not having a breakdown!" Dad objected.

"Well, it sure looks like it," Lena said casually. "You're not taking your anger out in a very healthy way."

"Kurt, just tell us why are you so mad at Mystique." Logan said. Dad was silent for a second. Then he finally said his reasons. His voice was a low growl but we could hear every word loud and clear.

"I was captured by Weapon X," He began. "They held me hostage for one month. And it was the most crucifying month I had to endure."

"What did Grandma Raven had to do with any of it?" I asked.

"She was working undercover for Venus Force," Aunt Rogue answered. "Trying to infiltrate William Stryker. She didn't know your father was bein' held prisoner and she couldn't do nothing about it." She looked at my father when she said this: "As much as she _wanted _to." Silence filled the room once again. I looked at my father for a long time.

_**Let's rearrange**_

_**I wish you were a stranger I could disengage**_

_**Just say that we agree and then never change**_

_**Soften a bit until we all just get along**_

_**But that's disregard**_

_**Find another friend and you discard**_

_**As you lose the argument in a cable car**_

_**Hanging above as the canyon comes between…**_

"Dad," I said finally. "You're mad at Grandma because of that?!"

"Of course, I'm angry at your grandmother because of this!" Dad said. "She did a lot of bad things before either you or Alena were born. To both me and your Aunt Rogue."

"But she changed!" Lena argued. "Weren't you the one who always tell us people can change for the better?"

"Well, I was wrong about your grandmother." Dad said, angrily.

"God, Kurt!" Aunt Rogue scolded, standing up. "This is our one and only opportunity t' finally get some kind of closure an' you're acting stubborn!"

"I'm NOT acting stubborn!" Kurt shouted.

"That's not what I'm seeing, bub." Logan remarked.

"Why can't you go, Dad?" I asked. "At least for me and Talia?"

"I'M NOT GOING TO THAT BAR AND THAT'S THE END OF IT! I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT ANYMORE!" Then before we could say anything else, Dad teleported out of the room. Aunt Rogue, who obviously knew where he went, left after him.

"YOU'RE _GONNA _TALK ABOUT IT, KURT WAGNER!" She shouted after him. "IF I HAV'TA DRAG YA BACK HERE MAHSELF!" Kristy Jo looked from Lena and my direction to Logan's and shook her head.

"Somethin' tells me they gonna need a whole lot more than support," She said.

"Ya think?" Logan responded. "They need _Dr. Phil!"_

"Or at least _Oprah." _Lena mumbled.

"Don't worry JT and Lena," Kristy Jo assured. "Logan an' I will talk t' them. I'm sure it's just grief getting t' them."

"That and this freaking heat," Logan added. He headed for the door when he turned to Kristy Jo. "Let's go Texas Pete," He said. "I don't want to miss all the breakfast." Kristy Jo gave me and Lena one last smile before leaving. And Lena and I were alone in Aunt Rogue's childhood room, thinking.

_**And suddenly I become a part of your past**_

_**I'm becoming the part that don't last**_

_**I'm losing you and its effortless**_

_**Without a sound we lose sight of the ground**_

_**In the throw around**_

_**Never thought that you wanted to bring it down.....**_

"How did we get caught up in this mess?" Lena asked me.

"I don't know," I said simply. "Dad and Aunt Rogue are fighting constantly. This family's coming apart."

"Well, _**I won't let it go down till we torch it ourselves,"**_ Lena said with conviction. _"We're _going to Black Velvet Bar tonight."

I just looked at her.

**_BOLD ITALICS-JT'S THOUGHTS, COURTESY OF OVER MY HEAD (CABLE CAR) BY THE FRAY. I DO NOT OWN THE SONG!!!!!_**

**_WHOA!!!! THIS IS SOME DEEEP STUFF!!! LET'S SEE WHAT LENA IS THNKING ABOUT ALL OF THIS!  
_**


	7. Lena: Sober

**LENA'S POV:**

SOBER

"Are you _serious?" _My cousin, JT Wagner asked me. His real name is Johannes Timothy, but he doesn't like that name much. We just finished listening to our parents duke it out, _again _andI got this crazy idea of going to the Black Velvet Bar. Well, JT thinks it's crazy.

"Yes, I'm serious!" I told him. "If Mom and Uncle Kurt aren't going to find out about this note, we have to."

"It's not our place."

"Yes it is. We don't have much of a choice. Mom is too messed up over Grandma Raven's death and Uncle Kurt is too _pissed off_ at Grandma Raven to even _think _straight. It's up to us." JT walked around the room a bit, his tail swishing rapidly from one end to another. I smiled. That tail had a mind of its own; which meant JT was really thinking about this.

"Suppose we do go," JT reasoned. "They'll know we're not Nightcrawler and Rogue."

"Look, the note says to see this 'Icaria' person. Mom and Uncle Kurt don't know who he/she look like, let alone if it's a person," I said. "What makes you think Icaria have seen _them _before?" JT thought for a moment, then smiled. "Okay, I see where you're coming from," He said. "But what if they got back-up?"

"We bring back-up of our own." I smiled slyly.

* * *

_**I don't wanna be the girl who laughs the loudest**_

_**Or the girl who never wants to be alone**_

_**I don't wanna be that call at 4 o'clock in the morning'**_

_**Cos I'm the only one you know in the world that won't be home**_

* * *

"This _better _be good, Lena." Becca LeBeau, my half-sister, groaned irritably.

"Yeah," Talia Wagner added. She's my other cousin, JT's sister. "I was on a long-distance call with Evan." Her boyfriend.

"Sorry, if I put a hold on your personal lives," I said sarcastically. Man, what _IS IT_ with teenagers?

"Like you give a crap?" Oliver told me.

"I really don't." I smirked. My older half-siblings and cousin rolled their eyes and started leaving when JT stopped them.

"Guys, stay." He said. "Lena really has something important she wants to tell us." Becca, Oliver, and Talia nodded and decided to stay, reluctantly. I mouthed JT my thanks.

"So what is it?" Oli asked.

"Can't say 'till everyone gets here," I replied. I was waiting on Tamarra to bring Natalie, Jason, Lara, and Dmitry.

"Who're waiting on?" Becca inquired. Just then, Natalie Rasputin phased through the wall, earning a scream from Talia.

"Sorry I'm late," She said. "Had to wake Summers up from his 'beauty nap'. He's on his way."

"Do you _have _to go through the wall like that?" Talia asked.

"Sorry, TJ." Natalie smiled sheepishly. Not long after, Lara Worthington flew in the room and sat next to Oliver. Tamarra Cabonarra entered, dragging Jason Summers and Dmitry Marx with her.

"Tami," JT asked. "Why are you dragging Jason and Dmitry?"

"Because they couldn't get their lazy butts up," Tamarra replied.

"Lena, this had better be worth my beauty nap." Jason threatened.

"It is." I assured.

"Do I have to miss the Saints/Cowboys football game?" Dmitry asked.

"I could TiVo it for you, Marx." Tamarra said. JT told her what I was planning already and she was on board. It's good to have a friend who's you're cousin's girlfriend.

"Look," I began. "This note that Rogue got from this woman is making everybody crazy. And it's sending Nightcrawler back to a time he doesn't want to go back to."

"You mean a Weapon X time?" Jason remarked.

"Yeah, that." JT said smugly.

"I think going to that bar will help them let go of some pain, hurt, and anger." I continued.

"But Dad doesn't _want _to go to the Black Velvet Bar." Talia pointed out. "He get's pissed off at Aunt Rogue every time she mentions it."

"What's their current speaking situation?" I asked.

"Uncle Kurt's not on speaking terms with Mom." Becca informed. "Why?"

"I think, my friends, it's time we nip this thing in the bud." I announced. Most of my friends didn't quite catch what I was saying. However, Becca caught it right on.

"Wait, you're not thinking we-" She began.

I nodded, smiling.

"Alena, are you insane?!"

"What?" Dmitry asked, still clueless. "What's she's thinking?"

"She and JT are going to the Black Velvet Bar _in place _of Rogue and Nightcrawler." Becca replied.

"What?!" Talia reacted. "That won't work!"

"And why not?" I asked.

"Well, first of all," Jason said matter-of-factly(as _he _thinks). "_None of you_ look like your parents. Secondly, you both are sixteen, Nightcrawler and Rogue are….well old. And Lena, wasn't your daddy black or something?"

"What of it?!" I asked, totally heated.

"Well, whoever gave your mama the note knows that she's married to Gambit," Jason continued. "If _you _come in, and say you're Rogue's daughter, wouldn't that blow your cover?"

That _really _set me off. Jason can be insensitive sometimes, okay _all _the time, but mostly he doesn't really mean it. Okay, so my father was black, so what? I resemble Rogue a lot more closely than Becca _or _Oliver. Sometimes Jason doesn't know when to turn that mouth off. Furious, I grabbed my father's staff and threatened to cast a spell on Jason when Tamarra stopped me.

"Lena," She told me. "I know Jason has his moments, but _this _is crucial." I looked at Jason evilly who gave me a pitiful smile in return. Sighing, I put my staff down. "Natalie," I said. "Do you mind?"

Before Jason knew it, Natalie smacked him upside his head, hard. I smiled slightly and turned to my doubting friends.

"Look, I know the risks," I told them. "But this is our _family _we're dealing with here. We _need _to know what happened with Grandma Raven."

"_Mom and Uncle Kurt _don't even know, Lena." Becca said softly. "What makes you think _we _will?"

"I think this Icaria person knows a lot more than we know." I said. "So who's in?"

* * *

_**I don't wanna be the girl who has to fill the silence**_

_**The quiet scares me 'cause it screams the truth**_

_**Please don't tell me that we had that conversation**_

_**I won't remember, save your breath, 'cos what's the use?**_

* * *

I was polishing my father's staff when a knock came at the door. "Come in," I said. Enters Logan Howlett aka Wolverine; my godfather. He's actually 'godfather' to a couple of X-Kids at the Institute, including Natalie, JT and Talia. When you look at Wolverine, he doesn't seem the fatherly type, let alone the marriage type. But he's a cool guy, when he's not cutting off any heads.

"Hey, kid." He greeted.

"Hey." I greeted back, not looking up from my work. "How's Mom? Did you talk to her?"

"Yeah," Logan replied. "She's not doin' too good. She tried to talk to your uncle and they ended up arguing again. But this time…."

"They said some hurtful words?" I finished.

Logan nodded. "And they're not speaking." He pulled up a chair and sat near me. "I need to talk to you about what you're doing tonight."

I finally looked up at him. How could _he _know what I was planning? I try to lie about it. "I don't know what you're talking about." I said. Yeah. _That line's _gonna get Wolverine off my back.

"Yeah, you do Alena Danielle Parkridge." He said with the best fatherly tone he could come up with, which _still _came out feral. "You know I have heightened senses and I can _smell _ya cooking up a plan right now. Plus I heard you kids talking. Now tell me now or I'll tell your mother." I sighed. There's hiding _nothing _from him! Well, I took another deep breath and prepared myself for the worse.

* * *

_**I'm coming down, coming down, coming down**_

_**Spinning 'round, spinning 'round, spinning 'round**_

_**Looking for myself - SOBER **_

_**When it's good, then it's good, it's so good till it goes bad**_

_**Till you're trying to find the you that you once hadI have heard myself cry, never again**_

_**Broken down in agony just tryna find a friend**_

* * *

I told Logan about my plan to go to Black Velvet Bar and we just sat there, looking at each other in silence. When finally, Logan said something.

"Are you sure you know what you're getting into?" He asked.

"Logan, my family's in a crisis," I told him. "My mom's an emotional wreck, my once-forgiving uncle has now turned to this ball of hate. Whatever Grandma Raven was trying to do, before she died, it must've been something real important if this Icaria person is going through the ends of the Earth to track Mystique's two kids down."

"What if you don't find what you're looking for?"

I shrugged. "If it's enough to give my mother some answers and Uncle Kurt the closure he needs, then that's enough for me."

Logan smiled and put his hand on my shoulder. "All right, then. Take the Winnebago." He said. "And call me or Kristy Jo if you run into any trouble."

"You're not gonna tell Mom?" I asked, surprised.

"Your mother's got enough on her plate," Logan commented. "Let _me_ deal with her and your Uncle Kurt." Smiling, I leaped and gave Logan a big hug. "Thank You, Logan!" I squealed.

Logan smiled despite himself. "Anytime, Darlin'," He said.

* * *

_**Ah the sun is blinding**_

_**I stayed up again**_

_**Oh, I am finding**_

_**That's not the way I want my story to end**_

_**Ah, the night is calling.  
**_

_** As it whispers to me softly come and play**_

_**Ah, I am falling**_

_**And If I let myself go, I'm the only one to blame**_

* * *

I woke up to a pair of glowing green eyes staring right at my soul. And I screamed nearly at the top of my lungs.

"Quiet, Lena!" JT hissed, his hand over my mouth. "You want Dad and Aunt Rogue to hear us?"

"Sorry, you startled me." I said, regaining my composure. I sat up and turned on the lamp by my bed. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah," JT answered. "Oli and Jason are getting the Winnebago started."

"Jason's not _driving_, is he?" I asked. Last time he did, we were stalled for hours.

"No, TJ is." JT answered.

"Good." I went to the closet and got my green and purple Untouchable X-Men squad uniform. It was dark green cargo pants with a dark purple halter-top and green leather jacket. On my belt was the "X" symbol and on my shirt was the Untouchable symbol, a ring of fire, encircled around the X.

"Where's _your _uniform?" I asked JT. JT showed me his black and blue uniform. His shirt was sleeveless, showing his muscles. His black leggings were tight, also showing his muscles. It was one of Nightcrawler's old uniforms. Our squad leader, Tanisha Jones (Independence), had a way of making old things new.

"You're going to _wear your uniform_ to Black Velvet?" I asked.

"No," JT replied. He pointed to his wrist to show a certain watch. "I'm going to wear my image inducer."

"Oh, right." I forgot his image inducer makes him look human. "Is Talia gonna wear hers too?"

JT nodded. "Less conspicuous."

"Smart move. Now go away, so I can change."

_**I'm safe**_

_**Up high**_

_**Nothing can touch me**_

_**But why do I feel this party's over?**_

_**No pain**_

_**Inside**_

_**You're my protection**_

_**How do I feel this good sober?**_

"Who are we waiting on now?!" I asked impatiently.

"Dmitry." Lara answered.

"Dmitry!" Natalie called out. "Will you come on?!"

"But I'm hungry!" Dmitry complained.

"They have food at the bar, Marx!" I said, irritated.

"What if they don't?" Dmitry asked.

"Then we'll stop by McDonald's or something," Jason said. "Now c'mon, ya big ox!" Sighing, Dmitry finally trudged his way to the Winnebago.

"Okay, Talia." I said. "Let's go." But Talia was still having second thoughts. _Obviously._

"Are you _sure _we're not gonna get busted for this?"

I sighed. "Logan already knows about it, Talia. And he promised he wouldn't tell Mom and Uncle Kurt."

Talia nodded and turned on the engine. Then she had _another concern. _"What if this plan backfires?" She asked. "What, then?"

"Let _me_ worry, about that." I said. "Now drive!"

"But what if-"

"JUST DRIVE THE FREAKING CAR, WAGNER!" Jason shouted. I smiled at Jason. Guess he could be of good use after all.

_**A/N: BOLD ITALICS WERE FROM THE SONG **__**SOBER **__**BY PINK. I REFERENCED THEM LIKE THEY WERE LENA'S ENTRY TO HER DIARY. I DON'T OWN THE SONG. OR THE X-MEN. I JUST OWN LENA & JT. AND THE OTHER OCS. PLZ READ AND REVIEW! FEEDBACK IS SOOO HELPFUL!!! **_


	8. Black Velvet

_**A/N: THIS IS WHERE IT ALL COMES DOWN! WE FIND OUT ABOUT OUR MYSTERY WOMAN, MYSTIQUE'S DEATH, AND EVERYTHING! ALL YOUR QUESTIONS WILL BE ANSWERED!**_

_**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN THE X-MEN, NAMELY NOCTURNE, NIGHTCRAWLER, ROGUE, WOLVERINE & MYSTIQUE**_

_**CLAIMER: I OWN THE OCS: KRISTY JO, OLIVER, BECCA, JASON, JT, TAMARRA, DMITRY, LARA, LENA, NATALIE, ICARIA, ZAINE, AKUMI, & BIG GOLIATH. U WANNA BORROW THEM 4 A STORY, LET ME KNOW. CHAPTER 8, AWAY!!!!!**_

BLACK VELVET

In a little sublet apartment, not far from Mystique's house, a pale-skinned woman with long black hair tied to a bun sits in the middle of her Woodstock-inspired room, meditating. Indian music plays in the background and the woman is chanting some odd phrases, repeatedly:

_**Mississippi in the middle of a dry spell**_

_**Jimmy Rogers on the Victrola up high**_

_**Mama's dancin', there's a baby on her shoulder**_

_**The sun is settin' like molasses in the sky…….**_

"Icaria?" Akumi walked in the small psychedelic room. She found the small raven-haired figure, sitting in a meditative position, eyes closed. "Are you awake?"

"I'm not sleeping, Akumi." Icaria said simply, eyes still closed. "What do you want?"

"I think some people responded to your note," Akumi informed.

"That's wonderful," Icaria smiled. "That is a sign of good things to come."

"Well," Akumi tucked a strand of green hair behind her ear. "It's _not quite _the people you wanted."

Icaria's eyes fluttered open. Her bright blue eyes shined brightly over her pale skin. "What do you mean?" She asked.

Akumi took out a small clear ball that showed nothing but their reflection.

"_Ishartu!" _Akumi chanted. Within seconds, the ball showed an image of a large van pulling up their driveway. A group of teenagers, ranging from fourteen to twenty, filed out of the car. Icaria immediately recognized them and laughed softly.

"The children of Rogue and Nightcrawler," She told her sister.

"_All _of them?" Akumi asked.

Icaria shook her head. "Just five of them," She said. "The rest are either children of the X-Men, the Untouchables or both."

"But why are _they _here?" Akumi asked. "You told me to give the note to Rogue. It was addressed _specifically _for her and Nightcrawler."

"I know, baby sister." Icaria said. "But as Father always says, 'Things are not _always_ what they seem.'"

Akumi thought for a moment. "Wait. You _knew _those kids were going to come instead of them?"

Icaria nodded. "Remember, I see all that was. Besides, Kurt and Anna's younger kids have way too much conviction inside themselves."

"I agree." Akumi agreed. "But if the kids are here, that means that…."

"Trinity will _finally _get to know her legacy?" Icaria finished. "Secrets and mysteries of the past are finally unraveling."

"Is that what Raven wanted Kurt and Rogue to find out?" Akumi asked.

"Part of it," Icaria replied. "The other part they must find out for themselves." Icaria finally rose up from her position and grabbed a black and white staff that was standing on the side of the wall.

"Come, Akumi." She said. "We must intervene before Zane and Big Goliath do." Akumi nodded. Every time their brothers "intervene," things worsen. Akumi's green eyes suddenly turned purple.

"I think it's a little late for that," She told Icaria. "Zane just sent in his posse."

Icaria sighed. "Freaking moron." She muttered. Then Icaria raised her staff and chanted a certain teleportation spell:

"_**Black velvet in that little boy's smile **_

_**Black velvet with that slow southern style **_

_**A new religion that'll bring you to your knees**_

_** Black velvet if you please"**_

And with that, the women vanished.

* * *

"Are you sure this is the right place, Lena?" JT Wagner asked his cousin. Lena Parkridge looked at her cousin, who, with the help of his image inducer, looked like a cross between Storm and Nightcrawler (if he was human).

"Of course, I'm sure." Lena told him. "I had a funny vibe about this place ever since we came in here."

"Like a 'we should get out of here and go back home' vibe?" Dmitry asked.

"No," Lena said. "An 'I think I've been here before' vibe."

Lena and JT came up to the bartender while the rest of the guys found a table.

"Excuse me," Lena said to the hefty bartender. "I'm looking for someone."

"Aren't we all?" He said, smiling at her. "I get off at eight."

"Okay, first of all, I have a boyfriend," Lena told him, completely turned off. "And if you hit on me again, you'll be waking up in a hospital."

JT broke in the conversation, sensing the tension. "You'll have to excuse my cousin," He told the bartender. "It's that time of the month." Lena shot him a threatening look.

The bartender, known as Big Goliath, laughed and gave an apologetic bow. "My apologies, little miss."

Lena rolled her eyes. "Whatever, we're looking for Icaria."

Big Goliath's smile suddenly turned into a frown. _What do these teenagers want with Caria? _He thought. He shrugged at them. "Sorry, I don't know anyone by that name," He said.

"You want to try that again?" Lena said, more threateningly. JT put a hand on her shoulder.

"Lena, don't provoke him!" He hissed.

"He's lying!" Lena whispered back. "He _knows _who Icaria is!"

"Look little girl, I don't know any 'Icaria,'" Big Goliath said. "So why don't you and your friends run along home. Isn't it a school night?"

Lena was about to say something when she smiled evilly. "I'd be careful of what you say around my friends." She told him slyly.

"What are you talking-" Big Goliath never got to finish his sentence as he felt his arm being twisted from behind. Screaming in pain, Big Goliath flipped his attacker from behind. But instead of smashing into the bar table, Natalie Rasputin went through it, as if it was invisible to her. Natalie picked herself up and turned into organic steel.

"Hold up!?" Big Goliath interjected. "Only _Colossus _can do that!"

"What can I say?" Natalie said. "I take after my dad." She kicked the giant bartender in the forbidden area before punching him in the stomach and kicking him in the face.

"Now, we're going to ask you again," Lena offered. "_Where is Icaria?"_

Big Goliath was about to say the location……

"_Ashcar Sophra!" _

A loud screech filled the room, sending everyone to their knees. Lena heard Natalie screaming and crying in agony. She was surrounded by a red energy force that was supposedly made to torture her. Reaching for her staff, Lena struggled to stand and faced a much slender man. Raising her staff she recited a counteract spell Illyana Rasputin had taught her.

"_Okapi Shivol Nirom!" _She shouted.

With that, the screeching stopped, the man, who was sporting a red and black Mohawk, was sent flying, and the red energy force around Natalie disappeared. However, it rendered her unconscious.

The pierced, tattooed punk regained his composure and looked at Lena, amused.

"Well, well, well," He said. "We got ourselves a little sorceress." He went over to Big Goliath and kicked him in the side after shaking his head.

"Get up, you big oaf!" He told him. "I can't _believe _you let a _girl _beat the crap out of you!"

"The girl was _Colossus' daughter,_ Zane!" Big Goliath addressed. "Ya know, Colossus from the _X-Men?"_

"I know who the man is!" the man known as Zane said. "_My_ question is: What do _they_ want?"

No one said anything. They were just getting a moment to recollect themselves. After a moment, Oliver Raven LeBeau was the first to speak. "Look, we don't want any trouble," He began. "We just want to find Icaria."

"What's your business with our sister?" Zane asked.

"See, I _knew _these jerk wads knew her!" Lena snapped. She grabbed her staff and rushed toward them when JT stopped her.

"Lena," he warned. "It's not the time or place." Turning to Big Goliath and Zane, JT said: "We came to respond to a note she gave to our parents."

"Who're your parents?" Big Goliath asked.

"Rogue and Nightcrawler of the Untouchable X-Men." Becca answered.

The two brothers looked at each other in confusion. They knew of the two famous mutant heroes, they knew they were foster siblings. But they overlooked the little fact of Rogue and Nightcrawler settling down, getting married and having kids. Being the ignorant men they are, that little fact slipped their mind. That is why the two men laughed.

"Yeah, right." Zane snickered. "And my daddy's Apocalypse. Why don't you kids tell us what you _really _want?"

"That _is _what we really want, Crackhead!" Lena shouted, angrily. Her patience was past gone. All she wanted to do was to beat the living crap out of them.

"Well, I'm sorry, sweetheart," Zane said casually. "You and the cast of _High School Musical _are going to have to get through my security."

"You mean, Notorious P.I.G.?" Jason sneered, referring to Big Goliath. "If Natalie could take him, so can we."

"And trust us," Dmitry added, pissed at what they did to his girlfriend. "We _will _dropkick your butt and _then _some."

Zane and Big Goliath laughed.

"You kids got spunk," Zane observed. "But my big brother Goliath was just a _warm-up."_ He snapped his fingers and red lighting ignited in his hands. Suddenly a gang of big, strong hardcore men emerged from the bar. Some were carrying clubs, some chains, others were carrying swords. But most of them weren't carrying anything at all. They all had one thing in common, however: Blood n' Guts.

"I like you to meet the Black Scorpions," Zane introduced. "Why I called them that: well duh, look at them."

The Black Scorpions surrounded the nine teenage mutants.

"Well, Lena," Oliver said. "I'll add this to the long list of _Jacked-Up Plans!"_

"It's just a setback, okay?" Lena told him. "I didn't know Icaria had siblings."

"Well, we're in Mississippi, what'd you expect?" Jason said. "They probably make out too."

"Jason, honey." Becca sighed. "Now's not the time for your remarks."

"We gotta think of _something,_ Lena." JT said, looking at her. Lena nodded. She looked at Natalie, who was still out cold. _Okay, we lost one muscle but I still got some tricks up my sleeve. _Lena thought of which strategy to use. _I can't ambush them, I can't do sneak attack with Natalie out cold. _Then Lena's eyes lit up. _That's it! _She turned to Lara and Jason.

"Lara, Jason," Lena announced. "White Light."

"But that's impossible," Lara told her. "My celestial energy isn't powerful enough."

"Yeah, and I haven't been exposed to natural light in freaking days," Jason added. "My solar plasma power is nearly gone."

"Don't worry," Lena assured. "I'll make it work."

"How?" Becca asked.

Lena just smiled and held out her staff. "Trust me."

"So what you gonna do, little girl?" Zane challenged.

"_We're _gonna take your self-righteous butt down!" Lena remarked. She looked at Jason and Lara. They were both hesitant to use their powers. Lena gave them a confident nod, and with that, Lara and Jason powered up. Seeing that, the other teenagers did the same.

Zane laughed. "You and your posse ain't got the stuff to take me and my boys down."

Lena smiled. "Oh, I got _one _thing." She raised her staff.

"And what's that?"

"_Lumina Maxima!"_

_**UH OH!!! IT'S GOIN' DOWN IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!!!!!!! **_

_**WILL ICARIA AND AKUMI ARRIVE IN TIME TO STOP THE MADDNESS?**_

_**WILL ROGUE AND NIGHTCRAWLER START SPEAKING AGAIN? (IN TIME FOR THEM TO FIND OUT THEIR KIDS ARE MISSING?)**_

_**WHO IS TRINITY?**_

_**UR QUESTIONS WILL BE ANSWERED!!!!!!! **_


End file.
